Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, not me.

Author/Note 1: This story is the sequel to Our Dawn 5. For the ones who don't know anything about Our Dawn Series, you can always read Our Dawn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Our Dawn Series Specials but if you don't want to bother I have a resume on my profile page. As it would be expected this is a next generation story and as such, it's focused on Jake and Leah's children.

A/Note 2: A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed Our Dawn Series so far.

A/Note 3: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

Alpha

Book II – The Protector

Harrison Black

68. A Touch of Drama

The howls started as soon as I passed the Queets River, only this time the howls weren't meant to warn the pack against danger, they were meant to warn everyone about my arrival. I was surprised to see that some wolves had come as far as Queets just to welcome me back. William and Isaac were two of them.

Danny and Quinn were there too, but I couldn't listen to their thoughts because they were a part of Isaac's pack and not dad's. As I suspected I could communicate via mind-link with dad's pack, which meant I was still a member of the group, and with both my brothers despite their new position as alphas of their own packs.

'We're family. I guess that's the reason why you have access to our thoughts just like we have access to yours.' Isaac suggested.

'It makes sense.' I agreed. 'I see you've been busy studying the pack.'

'Dr. Cullen has a lot of information about us that he needs to confirm. I'm just helping him out.' Isaac chatted happily. He was bigger than I last remembered.

Every boy that phased underwent a growth spurt. To confer the pack strong members, all the boys grew taller and put some muscle. However, there were always a few who would stand out. Usually, both alpha and beta wolves were bigger than the rest of their pack brothers.

That was probably why William and I were both bigger than Brady, Collin, and Denis even though they were older than us. We were also bigger than mom but not faster. At least not yet. But mom's case was different, of course. Being the first female wolf, she was a whole different matter.

So, it wasn't a complete shock to me finding out that Isaac had grown a lot in that last month and was almost as big as Will and me. Despite his young age, he was, after all, the offspring of the alpha pair and an alpha himself.

'Have you been able to handle EJ?' I asked out of curiosity. EJ was by far the most annoying member of all the pack combined. He had always been a problematic kid and the fact that he was now a wolf warrior didn't make much difference.

'He's a work-in-progress but he knows he has no choice right now. Either he stays in my pack or he'll have to join dad's and being in the same pack as Uncle Paul is out of the question.'

'What about Danny?'

'He's okay. Danny and Jay have become closer to their dads. Uncle Paul told me he's happy that Danny's coming around and Jason's also thankful now that Jay isn't angry with him all the time.'

'You're a reconciler, Isaac. Who would've guessed you'd be able to help Jay and Danny getting along with Uncle Paul and Jason!'

'You mean he's a wussy!' Will joked.

'I'm not a wussy! I just happen to talk to my pack brothers and help them solve their problems. Which is something you should learn how to do!'

Isaac was becoming bolder as well and that was quite a surprise.

'Shut up, pup! You don't know what you're talking about!'

'I know Rhea's been acting strange lately. And if she has a problem, we all have a problem.'

'She's in my pack!'

'But she must learn how to fight with all of us, and if she's not well, then we all have a problem!'

'Isaac has a point there. You need to focus more on what's wrong with Rhea.' I told my twin brother. We both knew what was wrong with Rhea, but Isaac's suggestion was valid not just in this moment but for the future. If Will wanted to be a good leader, he would have to learn how to listen to his pack brothers' problems and doubts.

In that moment Isaac's attention became focused on Danny, and then his priority was getting to the reservation as soon as possible.

'What's going on?' I asked, alarmed. It couldn't be the Romanians, could it?

'Jay and Levi are going at it again!'

'Going at what?'

'Fighting. They've been at each other's throats ever since that stupid rumor started.' Isaac said.

'I'm going on ahead, all right? I'll see you at home Harry! Welcome back!'

Isaac, Quinn, and Danny sped, leaving us behind.

'Is he…?'

'Faster than mom?' William finished the question for me. 'Yes, he is but he doesn't know yet and quite frankly it's better if he doesn't.'

'Why not? You think he's going to brag about it?'

William didn't answer but I knew him well enough to know that he was a bit jealous of our younger brother.

'How can he be so damn fast? We're older and we have a lot more experience than him...' William complained.

'I guess that's how nature works. We can't be all the same. You remember what dad told us when we joined the pack, don't you?'

Back then dad told us that he was the strongest wolf in the pack, followed closely by Sam, who was his beta and the best tracker, and Uncle Paul. Jared had the best eyesight while Uncle Seth had the best hearing. Mom was the fastest wolf. Collin and Brady were the smallest, after us, of course, so they were a little bit agiler than the others. Uncle Embry was the one who could resist longer to physical pain, and Quil was the best swimmer.

'Yeah... still... I think it's unfair.'

'Well... I think it's also unfair that both you and Isaac are alphas now. After all, I'm dad's first born.'

'You can still have your own pack, Harry.' William was feeling sorry for me. My wolf felt angry about being pitied but my human side was happy to know that Will was giving me some support.

'So, what is the rumor that Isaac was talking about?' I asked, changing the subject.

'That rumor is the damn reason why we couldn't buy a pregnancy test for Rhea so far.'

'I'm lost now.' I admitted. What the hell had a fight between Jay Morris and Levi Uley to do with Rhea's condition?

'It's all Sarah's fault!' My brother growled. He waited to confirm that no one else was phased and then he proceeded. 'She's an idiot! She was supposed to go to the drugstore and buy a pregnancy test. That was a simple task and yet she managed to fuck it up.'

'She couldn't find one?'

'She found more than that. She ran into Levi Uley.'

'You're still not making any sense.'

'Mrs. Plowden saw them together, Sarah was holding a pregnancy test, and guess what? She assumed the test was for Sarah, and Sarah, being the idiot that she is, got so nervous that she ran out of the door and left the pregnancy test at the store. The next day there was a new rumor in the Res about Sarah, Levi, and a baby.'

'What about mom and dad, do they know about these rumors?'

'Not yet. Dad's been busy with the Cullens and the training. As for mom, she's been planning JJ's birthday party.'

'So, everyone in the Res thinks that Sarah's pregnant and Levi is the father?'

'Yeah. Everyone but Levi. He thinks Sarah's pregnant with Jay's baby. Jay and Levi have been arguing ever since that day. Things got pretty serious yesterday morning. I think Isaac's going to have to put an alpha command on Jay soon otherwise they'll kill each other.'

'Did Levi choose Isaac to be his alpha?'

'No. And that's a problem too because there's no one to order Levi. He's a wolf without a pack, just like Quinn was in the beginning.'

'The longer you take to buy a damn test for Rhea, the longer these rumors will last. I advise you to sort this mess before dad finds out. You know him... he'll try to kill Jay or Levi. Or maybe both.'

'I can't go to the drugstore! Neither can Rhea! Mrs. Plowden will start more rumors about us.'

'Then don't go there. There is a dozen of pharmacies and drugstores in Forks, you should've never sent Sarah to Mrs. Plowden's store in the first place.'

'People know who I am in Forks. They'll tell Granddad Charlie who will tell Grandma Sue and then what?'

'By the time that happens Rhea will already know the results. Don't waste more time, she can't miss the training sessions forever.'

William thought about it and decided that I was right. So when I went to see the Cullens, he went to Forks. I was greeted enthusiastically by the vampire family. They already knew what had happened while Season and I were in Italy but they made me tell everything again. They all showed apprehension when I mentioned the death of Valerya and Serghei.

"They will come for you," Edward said with a serious expression. He meant Valerya and Serghei's mates. "The feeling of hatred for the person who killed their mates and the want for vengeance will be too strong to ignore."

"The good news is that with some luck, they will leave the Romanian coven vulnerable and if we manage to get them first, Edward will be able to read their minds." Carlisle advanced.

"Valerya and Serghei didn't know much. Scarlett read Valerya's mind before she killed her but she didn't find out anything useful."

"Maybe we have more luck with these ones." Bella tried to remain optimistic.

I shrugged. For what we had seen Vlad and Stefan were the masterminds behind the Romanian coven, so unless we could catch them, it was useless to try and extract information from the other Elders or members of the coven.

"How long do you think it'll take for them to come here?" I asked. Sooner or later the Romanians would come to La Push. At least Katerina and Ivan would because they knew my family lived here and they would use that against me.

"It all depends on how strong is Vlad and Stefan's leadership," Edward explained. "But you don't have to worry about it. We've set up a huge network of informants. If a vampire from the Romanian coven sets foot on the United States, we will know."

"The best thing we can do right now is to learn everything we can about our enemies," Alice said. "It's extremely uncommon to start a new coven without leaving tracks behind. I don't understand how Vlad and Stefan were able to do that without Aro's knowledge."

"Aro's been busy with the werewolves campaigns and when Scarlett joined the coven, he convinced himself that the Volturi are invincible." Jasper referred.

"Still..." Alice insisted. "We're talking about a coven bigger than ours."

"What will happen if the Volturi fall?"

"Jacob asked the exact same question." Bella smiled at me. "And we're going to tell you the same thing we told him. We don't know. Vlad and Stefan are motivated by hate. They want revenge for what the Volturi did to their coven. They tried to take down the Volturi many times and failed, and now we think they finally learned from their mistakes."

"They always had the numbers, but Aro had vampires with special abilities. Vlad and Stefan finally realized that they will never beat the Volturi in battle." Edward continued. "That's why they took Athenodora and Sulpicia and didn't kill them, and that's why they've turned Marcus against Aro. They don't want to be the rebels who murdered a whole coven, they want to earn the respect and support of the vampire community by showing them that Aro and the Volturi don't deserve to call the shots anymore."

"Their new approach has allowed them to gather a few followers already, especially in South America and Asia, but it's not enough for Vlad and Stefan to take down the Volturi. They need two things to be able to succeed." Carlisle informed. "They need to prove that Aro is a liar and a tyrant, and they need a secret weapon in the case of a war breaking."

The trial and Season. I thought in realization.

It made sense. In order to prove that Aro didn't deserve to control and rule the vampire community, Vlad and Stefan had planned his trial. They were probably summoning all the witnesses they could get to attend such event. Aro would be judged, convicted, and sentenced to death not just by the Romanian but by all the vampires who would go to his trial.

As for their secret weapon, the Romanians would not stop until they found Season again. She was the last piece of their puzzle because if the Volturi decided to attack, she would grant the Romanians the advantage they didn't centuries ago.

I should've never left Chicago. I was worried about Season even though I had instructed her to follow an emergency plan I had come up with, in case the enemy arrived while I was gone.

"We strongly believe that if the Volturi fall, the world as we know it, will change forever," Carlisle said.

The Volturi were bad news of course. I hated them, the pack hated them, and I believed that many vampires, including some of the Cullens, hated them too. But despite being a narcissistic son of a bitch, Aro had everything under control. He had established rules and made sure they were followed by other vampires. Those rules meant to keep the vampire world a secret from humans. And things had worked so far.

The Romanians wanted the exact opposite. So if we had to choose between the Italians and the Romanians, we would definitely support Aro and his coven. However, there was the question concerning Season.

Aro wanted her dead. I wanted her alive.

And I would do anything and everything to make sure I'd win that battle.

"Aro doesn't know anything about the trial, does he?"

"No," Alice replied. "Marcus hasn't told anything about it yet. And I don't think he will but he can easily change his mind."

I wondered what would Marcus gain with that. If he wanted revenge, he could simply kill Aro. It wouldn't be that hard now that he had Scarlett as an accomplice and their numbers had decreased considerably.

"Aro's death won't suffice," Edward explained. His face was a mixture of sadness and worry. "When I thought that Bella was dead after Irina's attack, I knew that Irina's death would not be enough for me. I wanted to torture her and make her feel the pain I was feeling. Even though we had once been friends, I didn't care."

"The loss of a mate is painful and Marcus is only alive because Aro ordered Chelsea to bind him to the coven," Esme spoke. "Most of the times, when your mate dies, you want to die as well."

Edward nodded backing up Esme's words. I had heard stories about the time when he went to Italy to convince the Volturi to kill him because Bella had fallen off a cliff and he thought she had died. Irina had also attacked my mother so she would kill her because she didn't want to live without her mate. Mom did kill Irina but then she got into labor. That was the day William and I were born.

"Marcus realized now that he's been living a lie," Carlisle said. "But living for centuries with someone he considered a brother, someone he respected and even followed, only to find out that it was Aro who killed Didyme... that's a whole new level of betrayal amongst the Volturi."

"Nine days," Edward recalled. "That's how much we have to wait."

I managed to return to La Push unnoticed. Only pack members and my family knew that I was coming. The Cullens had advised me to stay indoors and if someone else saw me, I should pretend I was my twin brother.

Isaac was in the kitchen preparing an amazing sandwich when I walked home.

"You shouldn't have bothered making a sandwich for me, baby brother." I tried to snatch the food from him but he was fast now and managed to take it out of my reach. I laughed and he grinned. "You've changed, Isaac. You're not the weakling nerd I remember anymore."

"I'm going to take that as I compliment," My brother said.

"Were you able to handle Jay and Levi?"

"Yep. Quinn took Levi home, and Jay went back to work. It's extra hard to keep those two apart because they work together."

I suddenly remembered that Levi and Jay were both junior officers in the Forest Guard. Sam was their chief.

"What about Sam? Can't he help you controlling his son?"

"I don't want to involve Sam yet."

"Everyone will know eventually."

"Well..." Isaac started but we were suddenly interrupted by Sarah and JJ's arrival. Our youngest brother recognized me immediately.

"Harry! You came back!" He said excitedly.

"I told you I'd be here for your birthday, didn't I?"

JJ hugged me and then he turned back at Sarah who was still standing at the kitchen door.

"You were right, Sarah. He came."

Our sister nodded and left up to her bedroom without a word. That was strange.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"PMS?" JJ suggested.

Isaac and I looked at him.

"Where did you learn that?" Isaac questioned.

"That's what the older boys say when they argue with their girlfriends," JJ explained.

"If you want to live until your birthday, don't say that anywhere near Sarah," Isaac advised him. "Now go to your room and do your homework."

"But it's Friday and I don't have classes tomorrow."

"You know the rules, JJ."

JJ whined some more but he ended up following Isaac's instructions because he knew that those were mom's rules, and he knew he wouldn't have dessert for two weeks if he didn't do his homework.

"What's wrong with Sarah?" I asked again when JJ left.

"Didn't Will tell you?"

"Yes, but... it's a just a rumor, right?"

"Try telling that to Sarah's friends at school. They've been pestering her about it."

Kids at school could be cruel especially in a small community like La Push.

"Have you spoken to her? She usually relies on you for a lot of things."

"That was before I phased." Isaac sighed. "I tried to speak to her though. It didn't work."

"Should I give it a try?"

Isaac shrugged. "It's your call, Harry."

I found Sarah in her bed, a pillow covering her face. I could tell she wasn't crying but she did seem affected by the latest events.

"I was expecting at least a hug from my sister," I said closing the door behind me.

"I'm sorry." She said from under the pillow. "I'm glad you're home again, Harry. It's just that..."

"It hasn't been easy?" I offered, pulling the pillow from her face.

She looked at me in the eyes and nodded.

"You know, don't you?"

It was my turn to nod.

"It's just a rumor," I told her and I watched her face contort in anger. "Before you go all crazy and start screaming at me, I want you to listen to what I'm about to say, okay?"

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and embraced her knees. She looked vulnerable and sad, and I wanted her to be the old Sarah. The fiery and spirited girl I loved.

"Okay." She finally said. "I'll listen."

"I was nine when I heard the first rumor about mom. I was at school and Miss Grace was called to the school board leaving us alone in the classroom. A few kids were talking about what their mothers had been gossiping at home. It was about mom and Uncle Paul."

"What?" Sarah lifted her eyes to watch me.

"Someone had seen mom and Uncle Paul leaving the woods together, half naked and dirty. Rumors spread like wildfire in the Res so soon everyone was saying that mom and Uncle Paul were having a secret affair."

"That's absurd!"

"It's absurd because you know the truth about the pack. But most people in La Push don't know, and I didn't either. I was ashamed and I didn't know what to say or think about it. I mean what do you answer a group of kids that ask you if Jacob Black really is your father and call your mother a whore?"

"Kids are idiots!"

"Yes, they are... and that was not the only rumor about mom and dad that Will and I heard over the years."

"Yeah... but this is different, Harry. My friends think I'm pregnant. Others think I'm a whore. There are bets on who's the father!"

"Are you pregnant?"

"NO!"

"Then screw them. Just ignore what they say and get yourself some new friends."

"You think it's my fault, don't you?"

"It was a poor decision on your part, Sarah. You could've at least gone to Forks to buy the test."

"I just wanted to prove them I was right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Rhea really is pregnant. I'm sure about it. She keeps telling me it's impossible because she's a wolf and her period stopped and things like that... and just wanted to show her that she's wrong."

"And how do you know she's pregnant?"

"The Spirits told me."

"The Spirits?" I questioned skeptically.

"Do you want to know what more they told me?"

I sighed. I wasn't buying that in the slightest. I had no idea what Sarah wanted to prove with this conversation. She probably wanted some attention. After all, she had always been the house's princess and now it seemed that everyone was getting attention except for her.

"What more did they tell you?" I finally asked feeling bad for her.

"They told me that if you want to protect Season, you have to let the vampires take her because if she stays with you, she'll die."

Unfortunately, we couldn't finish that conversation because our parents arrived. William came home shortly after. For the first time in more than a month, I was finally having a proper meal with my family and it felt like I had never left.

Mom and dad were genuinely happy to have me back. They asked me questions about Italy that I had to answer carefully because of JJ. Mom had bought enough food for a small regiment and soon William and Isaac were competing to see who could eat more without barfing. Sarah, on the contrary, had barely touched her plate.

And then, dad brought up a dangerous topic.

"What's going on between Jay and Levi?" He asked Isaac who suddenly stopped eating. We all did. Sarah tensed in her seat.

"Nothing much," Isaac stated casually. He was trying his best to remain calm.

"Dawn told me they were arguing near the school today." Mom pointed out.

"I know. I got there as soon as I could."

"Jay's imprinted on Ella. I guess Levi isn't very happy about it." William said. That was actually a plausible explanation for Jay and Levi's latest actions.

Mom and dad nodded in acknowledgment.

"If you need help controlling your pack, you can ask me. That doesn't make you any less of an alpha." Dad offered.

William, Isaac, and Sarah sighed in relief when our parents dropped the subject.

"I've heard they were arguing because Sarah's having a baby. That's what everyone's saying at school." JJ supplied.

By the look on our parents' faces, I knew dinner was over and we didn't even get to the dessert. I prepared myself to the drama that would follow.

It was good to be home.

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